Novato officials ban ice cream trucks near schools

Six years after nutrition advocates first raised concerns about trucks that sell ice cream to Novato students, city officials have banned the vehicles from within 1,500 feet of schools.

While it was a push for healthier eating that spawned the proposal, it was a focus on safety that led to its approval. Safety problems include students who dart into traffic to purchase ice cream or fight each other for positions in line, officials said.

"This ordinance is not based on nutritional needs, it is based on safety needs," Novato police Capt. Jim Berg told the Novato City Council on Tuesday before the council unanimously approved the ban.

The ban is similar to one passed in San Francisco, and it is more strict than the 500-foot ban on the books in San Rafael.

First proposed by the nonprofit Youth Leadership Institute, the ban on ice cream and other food trucks near schools gained momentum last year after Novato school officials asked the council to craft an ordinance.

Among those rankled by the food trucks was Miguel Villarreal, director of food and nutritional services for the Novato Unified School District. He said easy ice cream and other treats were too great a temptation at a time when the district is attempting to improve nutrition education and provide more healthful, organic food in school cafeterias.

"I'd like to thank members of the city for their work in addressing this issue," he said Tuesday.

When the council first discussed the matter in May it declined to approve a ban, instead asking police and other city staff to discuss the issue with school officials in more detail. During those discussions, safety issues "rose to the top as far as justification for taking action," Berg and Novato police Chief Joseph Kreins wrote in a recent report to the council.

In addition, the city's authority to regulate food trucks is limited to safety reasons, Berg said Tuesday.

The ban was nevertheless applauded by nutrition advocates who attended the council meeting to express their support.

"If it takes safety to help the health issue then that's fine," said Denise Trevino, Marin programs coordinator for the nonprofit Youth Leadership Institute, which supported the ban together with Novato school officials.

"I hope that this ordinance creates a positive change for schools in Novato," said Novato High School senior Shaun Moncada, who is active in the leadership institute and has been a longtime advocate of the ban. "School food has, and hopefully will continue to improve, but many students do not know this because the mobile food vendors are so close to the school."

The ordinance will apply to all public and private K-12 schools in Novato, and will only be enforced during school hours. It includes additional restrictions, including a ban on trucks parking within 200 feet of each other.

The ordinance is aimed at dispersing the crowds of students and discouraging some from walking to the trucks, officials said.